LV= said the days of the man of the house portrayed as the hunter gather was "well and truly dust". Mark Jones, LV= head of protection, said: "It's fantastic to see antiquated stereotypes being challenged."

The survey comes two days after official figures revealed the number of stay-at-home mums had fallen to a record low, plunging by 50,000 in the past year. Only two million now "look after family and home", the lowest since current records began in 1993.

Over the same period the number of stay-at-home Dads has almost doubled to 209,000.

Campaign group Mothers at Home said the Government's austerity drive was forcing more Mums to look for work. The number of women in work has leapt by more than a quarter of a million since the start of the financial crisis in 2008.

LV= said female breadwinners were earning an average of £51,965, with most benefiting from their higher qualifications. Ladies working in engineering or the public sector are most likely to earn more than their husbands or boyfriends.